Chapter 17. Top 10 SQL Server admin student misconceptions

 

Tibor Karaszi

Having trained SQL Server administrators for two decades now, I can anticipate many of the questions and thoughts that arise in a SQL Server admin class. Some misconceptions repeat over and over, and in this chapter I’ll elaborate on some of the most common misconceptions.

Let me start by saying that it’s okay to misunderstand how something works—that allows you to learn something, and learning is fun. I learn stuff all the time! Some misunderstandings are more common than others, and the reason for such common misunderstandings will vary. It might be that how the product works doesn’t seem logical at first glance...or that the product doesn’t work the way you want it to work...or perhaps some other product works in a different way. In the end, the reason for the misconception doesn’t matter; I find it more productive to explain how things work.

Let’s tackle these myths one by one.

Simple recovery model

The simple recovery model means no logging

Default collation

Table-level backups

Using replication for high availability

Timing query performance

Shrinking databases

Auditing login access

Tail-log backups

Database defaults

Difficulty

Summary

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